There are several group legal efforts ongoing in Japan to have criminal charges brought against responsible people at Tepco and in the government. In the Japanese legal system, the decision to bring criminal charges rests with the public prosecutors office.

This petition comes from a group headed by Ms. Ruiko Mutō, a Fukushima resident. Approximately 1200 Fukushima residents and 11,000 non-residents have joined as “complainants.” Each was asked to reflect on the harms brought upon their lives in joining this legal effort, and so the process itself has been one of consciousness-raising and the promotion of solidarity.

There is worry that with the new Abe administration, the prosecutors will be even less inclined to decide to bring criminal charges. This petition, addressed to the Fukushima and Tokyo Public Prosecutors Office, asks that a full and impartial investigation be conducted, leading to criminal charges.

Bear in mind that not a single person has been charged with any responsibility for the Fukushima disaster.

The petition may be found on the site of the Fukushima complainants’ group; scroll past the Japanese for English translations for entry categories; fill in and click “submit.”

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The Atomic Age is an ongoing project that aims to cultivate critical and reflective intervention regarding nuclear power and weapons. We provide daily news updates on the issues of nuclear energy and weapons, primarily though not exclusively in English and Japanese via RSS, Twitter, and Facebook. If you would like to receive updates in English only, subscribe to this RSS.

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The artwork in the header, titled "JAPAN:Nuclear Power Plant," is copyright artist Tomiyama Taeko.

The photograph in the sidebar, of a nuclear power plant in Byron, Illinois, is copyright photographer Joseph Pobereskin (http://pobereskin.com/)

This website was designed by the Center for East Asian Studies, the University of Chicago, and is administered by Masaki Matsumoto, Graduate Student in the Masters of Arts Program for the Social Sciences, the University of Chicago.

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If you have any questions, please contact the Center for East Asian Studies, the University of Chicago at 773-702-2715 or japanatchicago@uchicago.edu.